Croatia has had a national action plan for green public procurement since this year. The EU is currently in the process of establishing green public procurement criteria for office buildings and road construction. These are the reasons why the theme of the 9th Croatian Forum on Sustainable Construction is precisely green public procurement.
In the context of discussions on climate change and preparations for the negotiations that will take place in Paris at COP 21, it is appropriate to mention the role of the public sector: not only in agreeing on goals but also in its own impact on climate change through purchasing power.
Considering that the public sector spends 2 trillion EUR (19% of the EU’s GDP) each year, the EU Commission notes in its green public procurement handbook that the public sector: “If they choose goods, services, and works with a lower environmental impact based on their purchasing power, they can significantly contribute to local, regional, national, and international sustainability goals.”
What examples can we learn from?
The city of Koprivnica has voluntarily set itself a goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 50% by 2020, so we do not have to look far for examples. The national action plan for green public procurement adopted by the Government of the Republic of Croatia this year anticipates that by 2020 at least 50% of public procurement procedures will use at least some of the criteria. However, the application is voluntary, while the experiences of some countries have shown that environmental protection and energy efficiency goals can only be achieved if green public procurement also has a mandatory component, for example:
- Germany has a mandatory goal for the use of life cycle cost analysis,
- Austria has a prescribed obligation for green public procurement,
- while the United Kingdom has criteria that are a mandatory minimum.
Manufacturers invest in innovations
The EU has set greenhouse gas reduction targets and legislatively imposed obligations on manufacturers. In line with this, the manufacturing sector invests in innovations and products that emit less CO2. However, to achieve the ultimate goal, the public sector that enacts laws must set an example and influence the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through its consumption.
